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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — for paper
  4. race — humankind
  5. face — to confront
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to point toward
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — the animal
  18. current — of water
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — happening now
  21. drill — army training
  22. mark — a grade
  23. drill — a practice
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com